82 FAMILIAR FISH, THEIR HABITS AND CAPTURE 



them when angling for other fish with minnows for 

 bait. When they take the hook, a wonderful fight 

 follows. They twist and squirm, running here and 

 there, and will easily jump out of the boat if not 

 killed at once. In lakes they are taken through the 

 ice in large quantities, and it is great sport to get 

 them through the small fishing hole. Though they 

 are not spoken of highly as a food fish, their flavor is 

 good. When dried and salted, as are salt-water cod, 

 their flesh is claimed to be almost fully as good. In 

 weight they range from 2 to 4 pounds, but in some 

 of the larger lakes specimens weighing up to 40 

 pounds have been taken. 



Before concluding this chapter on miscellaneous 

 fishes it is well to give passing mention to the sucker 

 family. There are many species, but all are too 

 coarse or dry fleshed to be of any commercial value 

 as food fish. All are large scaled, ugly in contour, 

 lifeless, soft fleshed, and full of bones. Every lake, 

 river, and stream is full of them, therefore they are 

 very frequently caught in angling for other fish. 

 Ordinarily, suckers are only good to throw back, not 

 being of any value as food fish, for the reasons just 

 given. There is one exception, however, that when 

 taken from cold streams in April and early May, they 

 are firm fleshed and quite palatable. They are a very 

 bony fish, but most of the bones can be avoided by 



